To learn more about some of the major regional projects with implications for and coordination with Alexandria, visit the project pages linked below (pages are not maintained by the City of Alexandria).   

Alexandria coordinates with a number of rail partners on projects in and around the City including:

• Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA)
• Virginia Railway Express (VRE) - represented by Councilwoman Sarah Bagley on VRE Operations Board
• Amtrak
• CSX
• Norfolk Southern

The Alexandria Fourth Track project will design and construct 6.0 miles of a fourth railroad track and related infrastructure between Arlington, VA, and Alexandria, VA. The project will connect the southern end of the Long Bridge Project and will construct one additional track within existing railroad right-of-way to accommodate more railroad capacity between Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. As part of this project, VPRA is redesigning the rail bridges over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue in Old Town. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2024 and finish in early 2027. For project specific questions, please e-mail contactus@vpra.virginia.gov. 

VDOT I-495 Southside express lane Study

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is conducting an environmental study to potentially extend the express lanes system on the southern section of I-95/I-495 (Capital Beltway), by 11 miles from the Springfield interchange (I-95/I-395/I-495) in Fairfax County, Virginia, across the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, to the MD 210 interchange in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

More information and updates on this project are provided on the 395 and 495 Express Lane Projects page.

DRPT I-495 Southside Transit and TDM Study

To help inform VDOT's study, noted above, the Virginia Department of Trail and Public Transit (DRPT) conducted a study to identify a range of current and future multimodal solutions that could be implemented to reduce congestion, improve trip reliability and regional connections, and enhance existing and planned multimodal mobility and connectivity in the study area with a potentially expanded Express Lanes system. The study area focused on I-495 between the Springfield interchange (I-95/I-395/I-495) in Fairfax County, Virginia, and the MD 210 interchange in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The study area also included the Metrorail and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) lines between Springfield and Alexandria that parallel I-495.

NVTC leads the planning process for Envision Route 7, a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system designed to connect the Mark Center in Alexandria to Tysons via Bailey’s Crossroads, Seven Corners and Falls Church along the Route 7 (King Street) corridor. In Alexandria the routing would follow the West End Transitway along N. Beauregard Street and King Street north of N. Beauregard Street into Fairfax County.

WMATA is undertaking an effort to redesign its bus network with a visionary plan that Metro will begin implementing in summer 2025. 

The I-495 Express Lanes Northern Extension (495 NEXT) project is a public-private partnership between the Commonwealth of  Virginia and Transurban that involves extending the 495 Express Lanes north by two-and-a-half miles from the Dulles Corridor to the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchanges near the American Legion Bridge.  

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA), in collaboration with CSX, will design and construct replacement rail bridges over King Street and Commonwealth Avenue in Alexandria. The intent is to improve safety and reduce maintenance for these structures. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2024 and finish in mid-2026. For project specific questions, please e-mail, contactus@vpra.virginia.gov.

The Long Bridge Project will construct a new, two-track railroad bridge next to the existing Long Bridge which spans across the Potomac River from Virginia to Washington, DC, creating a four-track corridor. A new bike-pedestrian bridge will also be constructed as part of the mitigation that will span the Potomac River and George Washington Memorial Parkway, connecting Long Bridge Park directly to East and West Potomac Parks. The project’s purpose is to increase railroad capacity between Virginia and the District of Columbia while alleviating the rail congestion caused by the existing two-track Long Bridge.

This project is in its design and construction phase which is scheduled to last until 2030. 

Passenger safety will be improved by replacing an at-grade pedestrian track crossing with elevators to connect the two platforms. The elevators, and current and proposed stairs, will connect to the existing tunnel between the two platforms. Adjustments to platform elevation will eliminate the need for step-boxes to access VRE and Amtrak trains. The center platform will be widened and lengthened to accommodate trains on both tracks.

For project specific questions, contact gotrains@vre.org.